Model Context Protocol (MCP) Deep Dive

Agenda:
6:00-7:00: Socializing (Thanks Google for food and drinks!)
7:00--7:10: Announcements
7:10--8:00: Model Context Protocol (MCP) Deep Dive - Ramnivas
8:00-8:15: Q&A

Description:
Large language models (LLMs) are powerful--but only when they have access to the relevant context for the task. While techniques like Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) help, they have limitations in the types of questions they can answer and tasks they can perform.

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) offers a simple, open standard for connecting AI models to real-time information and tools.

In this talk, you'll get a hands-on introduction to MCP: how it works, how it extends the capabilities of LLMs by enabling them to interact with external resources, and how it fits into the broader AI tooling ecosystem. You’ll see a basic MCP server built from scratch, watch a model interact with it to complete real-world tasks, and discover ready-made MCP endpoints you can start using right away. We will also take a peek into changes coming to the MCP specifications.

Bio:
Ramnivas is a technologist, author, and presenter passionate about doing software right. He has been at the forefront of innovation in the Spring Framework and Cloud Foundry since their inception, leading a group within Cloud Foundry and founding the Spring Cloud project. He is the author of AspectJ in Action (1st and 2nd editions), the best-selling book on aspect-oriented programming. Ramnivas has spoken at leading industry events including JavaOne, ScalaDays, JavaPolis, SpringOne, and O'Reilly OSCON. He is also the co-founder of Exograph, a Rust-powered framework that enables developers to expose data sources like Postgres to LLMs via MCP, offering a secure, structured, and policy-aware integration.

Sponsor:
Today's meetup is sponsored by gRPConf. Early bird registration for gRPConf is only $50. You can learn more about gRPConf at https://events.linuxfoundation.org/grpconf/ Hopefully we will see you there.